Method of making leather yarn and article



W. M. CAVANAUGH.

METHOD OF MAKING LEATHER YARN AND ARTICLE.

APPLICATIQN FILED OCT. 15, 1918.

1 41 5, 3 1 3 Patented May 9, 1922 4 SHEETSSHEET I.

///J monzrs.

I W. M. CAVANAUGH. METHOD OF MAKING LEATHER YARN AND ARTICLE.APPLICATION FILED ocr. 15, 1918.

1,41 5,31 3; Patented May 9, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CD t) l/VI/E/V TOR W. M. CAVANAUGH.

. METHOD OF MAKING LEATHER YARN AND ARTICLE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 15; 198. 1,415,313 Patented May 4 $HEETS-5HEET 3-w. M. CAVANAUG H METHOD OF MAKING LEATHER YARN AND ARTiGLE.

APPLICATION man OCT. 15, 1918. v 1,41 5,3 1 3., Patented May 1922. 4SHEETS-SHEET 4.

. NAUGH,

WILLIAM M. CAVANAUGI-I, OF NEW YORK, Y.

METHOD OF MAKING LEATHER YARN AND ARTICLE.

teasers.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. CAVA- a citizen of the United .States,and a resident of the borough of Richmond, city of New[ York, county ofRichmond, and

State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMethods of Making-Leather Yarn and Article, of which the following is aspecification.

The in ention relates to leather manufactures and particularly to theforming of leather into yarn.

The invention is particularly adapted for utilizing. comparatively smallfiat strips of leather in forming leather yarn. This yarn is made fromshort flat strips of leather which are joined-end to e-ndso as to form along continuous fiat length resembling a wide band and thereafter thecontinuous fiat length of leather thus joined, to wit, the said wideband, is split longitudinally into a series of long fiat narrow stripseach of which narrow strips s consequently made up of connectedend-to-end pieces of leather, and which pieces correspond in number tothe pieces in the wide band, and thereafter the long flat narrow stripsare wound so as to form a round product which is herein properly termeda leather yarn. As the winding progresses the product is deposited upona spool but before being spooled it is preferably intermittently rolledtransversely in a manner to slightly twist the product and in a mannerto tighten the winding and so-as to set the wind-or twist by theoperation of roll pressing.

' tioif and in As showing a specific manner in which the invention maybe realized reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming apart of this specification, in which drawings,

Flgure 1 is a plan or face view of a portion of a long continuous fiatlength formed 1 indicated by the line 12-12 of Figure 5 of pieces ofleather joined end to end.

Figure 2is a side or edge view of the band shown in Figure 1.

. Figure 3 "shows in vertical elevation a pair of slitting rolls whichcan be employed to cut or slit the long band into a number of long flatnarrow strips, each of the desired width.

Figure 4 shows the rolls in transverse seethis figure there are alsoindicated several narrow fiat-strips as they'appear immediately. afterthe severing operation takes place and as the narrow strips are beingWound or coiled upon spools.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1922.

Application filed October 15, 1918. Serial No. 258,210.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a machine which may be employed for thewinding or twisting of the narrow continuous strips into the circularproduct, herein termed yarn. In

this machine there is shown a winding head for forming the yarn, amechanism for spoohng the yarn, and mechanism for trans- Versely rollingand twisting the yarn prior to its being spooled. I

Figure 6 is a face view of a portion of the long narrow fiat strip. Inthis figure the product is shown somewhat enlarged as compared withthestrip usually employed, although it will be understood that a strip 0this width could be employed if desired.

Figure 7 is a view showing-a portion of the yarn which is formed fromthe strip shown in Figure 6. In Figure 7 there is also shown a thread orstrand whic provides a core for the yarn, if a core is desired, and inthis figure there is indicated the manner in which the strip is wound ortwistedabout the coreto provide the circular product herein termed theyarn.

' Figures 8, 9 and 10 illustrate a woven fabric which can. be formedfrom theyarn made in the apparatus herein shown. Figure 8' is a faceview of the fabric, Figure 9 is a view taken on the plane as indicatedby the line 9 9, Figure 8, looking in the direction of the arrows, andFigure 10 is -.a view taken on'the' plane as indicated by the line10'-10, Figure 8, looking in the direction of the arrows. Figure 10,however, shows the fabric before it has been calendered or flattened;Figures 8 and 9 illustrate the fabric after it has been calendered orflattened.

Figure 11 is a View indicated by the line 1111 of Figure 12 lookinginthe direction of the arrows.

Figure 12 is a view taken as on the plane cated in Figure 2. The piecesare designateC) taken as on the plane being coiled upon the spool by Aand the ends thereof are cut preferably parallel with each other and arebeveled, as shown at a-ai in Figure 2. The pieces are arranged end toend and the adjacent ends of adjacent pieces. are then connected or a Vto wit, pulley P on the motor shaft, belt 11,

stuck together by Suitable cementing material so asto form acomparatively wide long band or strip B. This long band or strip B whileof uniform thicl'mess is not necessarily of uniform width and is alsoprefer-- ably much wider than is desired or than can be employeddirectly in the making of the yarn It can, however, be readily severedor cut into a number of narrow strips which are suitable for thepurpose.It will here be remarked, however, that it is ad- "visable to form thenarrow strips in this row strips.

-manner rather than to form each narrow strip by itself from stripswhich are brought to the desired Width prior to being joined and Ipurposely form the wide strip or band as a preliminary to the forming ofthe nar- Mechanism which I havefound suitable for the purpose of cuttingthe wide strip or band into the small narrow strips comprises a pair ofcooperating grooved slitting rolls C and D which. are clearly indicatedin Figures 3 and 4. The band B before formed as the result of thesplitting oper-' being slitted is indicated at the right hand side ofFigure 4' and the narrow .strips ation are designated by e f g h j;these narrow strips are-coiled or vwound upon spools E. When the narrowstripslare thus spooled they are ready to be employed in the mannershown in Figure 5-provided the leather thereupon i s sufliciently dampand if not sufficiently damp it. must be dampened prior to beingtwisted.

The machine may be considered to comprise a main frame 1 supporting awinding head 2so1netimes herein called a twisting 'head-which carriesthe spool of leather, a

transverse rolling mechanism 3 and a mechanlsm 4 forspooling or coilingthe yarn. The winding head 2, the transverse rolling mechanism 3 andspool mechanism 4 are all a, COI'G.

drivenfrom' the-motor M bymeans of suitable belts and gearing, as willhereinafter more fully appear. Upon the frame 1 there is also carried aspool holder 5 upon which a spool carrying a thread or strand 6, thatcan be relied upon to yarn, is placed, when t e yarn is to comprise Thewinding head 2 has a tubular member which provides a hollow shaft forthe head and this shaft is mounted'in a suitable bearing,'as 8. on the,shaft there is placed the spool E carrying'a long narrow leather stripand on this hollow spindle or shaft there are also suitably carried acentral guide-way 9 and an inclined guide-way 10, both of which rotatewith the spindle or shaft. The leather rovide a core for the strip fromthe spool passes over the inclined guide-way 10 toward the entrance endor throat of the central guide-way 9. The winding head or twisting head2 is driven from the motor M by the following train;

pulley 12 on shaft 13, said shaft 13, pulley let which is on theshaft13, belt 15 and arbor or shaft of the spool mechanism 4. In

the operation of the machine the thread 6 passes through the tubularmember 7 to the spool 17, if a thread is to be employed, and as thetwisting head 2 revolves, the strip of leather fromthe spool E passesover the inclined guide-way 10 and is deposited in such a manner that itis wound 1n a cylindrical or spiral path about the core; in other words,the strip of leather takes the form of K a cylindrical helix and thecentral guide-way 9 determines the diameter of the product which passesthrough it, that is, the diam- 'eter of the product is not larger thanthe inner diameter of the central guide-way 9.

It is not necessary, however, to employ the core, although the same isadvisable, be-

cause the leather from the spool E will be deposited in the same mannereven though the-[core is not employed. In order thatthe yarn may betruly circular and smooth, and given a permanent set the transverserolling means is provided, as at 3. This transverse rolling meanscomprises a pair of opposed platens arran d so that when they are inengagement with the yarn one of the platens is moving in one directionwhile the opposing platen is moving in a reverse direction but atsubstantially'the same speed. These platens are in engagement with theyarn only when they are moving on what may be called a a forward stroke;on the reverse stroke they are not operatively engaging the.

yarn. The transverse rolling mechanism is shown in plan in Figure5but'vertical views thereof are shown in Figures 11 and 12.

lower platens esignated respectively as 18 which isslidably mounted inthe uprights or The platens ma be referred to as upper and standards-20and-by this rod one longitudi- 'nal' edge portion of the platen issupported, as is clearly shown in Figure 11. The other 1 25 ary rod 23that is carried by the uprights Or' platen 18 is slidably;

cross-bar 24 is carried at the upper ends of the uprights or edgeof theplaten is supported by a stationstandards 20 and the mounted on thisrod.

standards 20 and provides a bearing for a rolled and vertically movablerod 25. A yoke 26 is carried at the lower end of said rod 25 and in thedepending .arms 27 of the yoke there is carried a slidably mounted rod28. The upper platen 19 is screw-connected at 29, 29 to this rod so thatone edge portion of the platen is supported by the rod, as clearly shownin Figure 11. The opposite edge portion of the upper platen is carriedby a fixed rod 30 which is in the depending arms 27 and said portion. ofsaid platen is slidably mounted on said 7 seen that. when the rods 22'and 28 are reci rocated the platens which are respective y connectedthereto will consequently be reciproca-ted. A means is provided foreffecting this reciprocation. This means comprises cooperating gears 31"and 32, the former of which is connected to and drivenby the shaft 13heretofore referred to. The shaft 13 extends sufliciently far to carryand drive a crank 33. One end of a. link 34 is connected to thecrank-pin 35 thereof while the other end of thelink is connected at 36to .the rod 28 to which the upper platen 19 is connected. The gear 32drives a shaft 37 which in turn carries a crank 38. A link 39 has oneend thereof connected to the crank pin 40 of the crank 38, while theother end .of the link is connected at 41 to an end of the reciprocatingrod to which the lower platen is connected. It will, therefore, be seenthat as the shaft 13 turns the cranks just referred 'to will be revolvedwith the consequent result that the platens 18 and 19 are reciprocated.The crank pins are positioned relative to each other so that when theplatens are in operative engagement with the yarn the platens are movingin opposite directions but at relatively the same speed.

The upper platen has been described as being carried on the yoke 26which is at the lower end of the vertically slidable rod 25. This rod 25is under the control of a lever 42 fulcrumed at 43. This lever isslotted, as at 44, and in the slot there enters a pin 45 extending froma collar 46 that is secured to the upper end of the rod 25.compression-spring 47 is arranged between the crossbar 24 and the collar46. The movable end of the lever 42 engages a cam 48.- The shaft 13 andgear 31 revolve in the direction of the arrow Z. The cam 48 isconstructed and arran ed so that when the upper platen ismovlng in thedirection of the arrow X and when the lower platen is moving in thedirection of the arrow Y the upper platen will not be'pressing againstthe yarn; in other words, will be in an inoperative position, but sothatwhen the platens are each moving in the reverse direction the yarn willbe en- ,gaged by them and will be transversely to a certain extenttwisted by rod. It will therefore be torsional movement of the spool 17while the yarn next to be spooled is receiving the tor- 'sional motionor twist and in adirection to tighten the yarn.

The spoo-lin mechanism 4 is driven through the fo lowing train ofmechanism, to wit, the bevel gear 49 which is on the shaft 37 thatdrives the crank 38 from the gear 32, the bevel gear 50, shaft 51,pulley 52, belt 53, pulley 54 and friction disks 55 and 56, the latterdisk being connected to the arbor or shaft that carries the spool 17.The spool 17 is clamped on the shaft. In order that inequalities oftension may be taken care of and a required slip in the drivingmechanism permitted, a compression spring is provided at 57 to regulatethe pressure between the friction disks 55 and 56. The compression ofthis spring is controlled by an adjusting nut 58. Manifestly, any slightpull which may be the result of the'platens seizing the yarn can betaken care of by this arrangement; or, to state the same thing, in areverse way the spool will wind the yarn only as it is allowed to dosoand this without imparting any undue strain to the yarn.

From what has preceded it will be manifest that the winding headdeposits the long narrow strip-as 6, see Figures 4 and 6 from spool E ina helical path, or in other words, winds the strip so as to form acircular product, to wit, a yarn (see Figure 7) that this circularproduct, to'wit, a yarn, isironed and transversely rolled between. theplatens, and that there is a slight twisting of that portion of the yarnbetween the platens-or transversely rolling mechanism 3and the spool 17as the rolling operation is taking place. The result of the series of-steps herein described isto produce a prod uct of r ular diameter,smooth and uniform and wit a permanent twist or set in the leather.

It has heretofore been indicated. that it is advisable to moisten theleather in the strip prior to being twisted. This may be accomplished,for example, by applying a wet sponge to the leather strip as it isbeing twisted; or other means ofdampening might be employed, forexainple, it might be advisable to soak the leather on the spool priorto bringing the spool into position for the twisting operation. i I

If desired a number 'of strips could be fed to the winding or twistinghead and simultaneously wound or coiled so that they would together forma single yarn of several plies where extra strength, for example, isrequired. With such' a winding head, however, the number of inclinedguideways would correspond to the number of narrow strips employed.-

The core, if 'used, can be made of such 3 material as cotton; 511k;linen, leather, etc., or any other suitable material. Instead of.making'the narrow strips in the manner described they could be made bycircular cut ting, but if the leather were cut into circular form' itshould be straightened by dam-'v or thread is properly spooled it isready for weaving, if it is desired to employ the yarn for such purpose.The-yarn or thread of leather can be employed either as a warp, or as afiller or both, or can be combined with other material and Woven into afabric made either wholly of or comprising as an essential part thereofa leather yarn. The yarn may be given any desired colorbefore weaving,or if it is desired a fabric made from the yarn can be colored afterweaving.

A fabricmade of leather yarn is of such a character that it-can be madesmooth and strong and can be softened and rolled or twisted, if desired,since the nature of the leather is in no waychanged and can be putthrough any of the processes-to which leather in the original state canbe subjected.

The leather yarn maybe woven into a fabric of practically any lengthdesired, for example, it can be woven long enough to make a belt adaptedfor the transmission of power should such a construction be desired.

A fabric made of the leather yarn is "clearly indicated in Figures 8, .9and -10.

It will be noted, however, that where it, is desirable to have thefabric substantially smooth and flat this can be accomplishedbypressure, as by'calenderin'g, and in this way. the high spots of theweave will be pressed down, as is indicated in Figures 8 and 9.

Figu

re 10 indicates the appearance of the fabric prior to the. calendering.

In the manufacture of yarn in the manner herein described a large numberof pieces of leather now wasted or sold for a very nominal figure can beutilized, and-asnone of-the peculiar properties of the leather have.been destroyed the resulting product, towit, the yarn, can be used toadvantage in many not limited to the precise construction andarrangement shown and described for theymay be embodied in various formsand modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What I claim is: I '-1. The .method of forming leather yarn, consistingin taking a narrow strip of split leather, moistening the same, twistingthe moistened strip. to 'form a circular product,

p and finally-subjecting the yarn to an inter-- mittent transverserollingand pressing operation. 2. The method of forming leather yarn,consisting in taking a narrow strip of split "leather, moistening thesame, twisting the moistened strip'to form a circular product andfinally subjecting the yarn to an inter. mittent transverse rolling andpressing o'pin cross section.

3'. A leather yarn comprising a core, and

twisted, leather strips surrounding the same.

4. A woven fabric comprising as an esseneration to form a yarnsubstantiallycircular tial part thereof a leather'yarn made up roundingsaid core. a

This specificatlon signed this l fthlday of October, A. D. 1918. I V,

- WILLIAM CAVANAUGH.

of a core-and twisted leather strips sur-

